Last Night I Dreamed That Somebody Loved Me
by NouvelleLenni
Summary: Tony finds out that his estrange cousin is mixed in with an NCIS murder investigation. Why's she involved and can he help get her out of it unscathed? Or will she help him instead... Team Fic. Mild Tony/Ziva romantic relationship in the beginning, possibly more later. Father/Son relationship – Gibbs/Tony. Siblings relationship: Tony/McGee Tony/Abby Tony/Palmer. Tony/OCC
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Last Night I Dreamed That Somebody Loved Me  
**Verse:** NCIS  
**Genre:** Crime/Family/Hurt/Comfort/Romance/Tragedy  
**Pairing:** Mild Tony/Ziva in the beginning, possibly more later. Father/Son – Gibbs/Tony. Siblings Tony/McGee + Tony/Abby + Tony/Palmer. Tony/OCC  
**Rating: **M for suggested violence, possible future violence. Drugs, prostitution and other graphic themes  
**Disclaimer: **Other than the OCC, I own nothing.**  
Summary: **Tony finds out that his estrange cousin is mixed in with an NCIS murder investigation. Why's she involved and can he help get her out of it unscathed? Or will she help him... Team Fic

**A/N: **This story takes place in the middle of Season 9, so before the dreaded finale, but after the affair with CI-Ray.

* * *

NCIS _Very _Special Agent Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo was stumped. There was something seriously wrong with this Major Case Response Team's – MCRT – current state for them to have not yet closed their present case. Three weeks in and 'Team Gibbs' had yet to apprehend the murderer of Lance Corporal Jim Damacos. _Yes, there is defiantly something wrong with us… or is it me? _Tony mused.

It had never taken the team more than a week, possibly a week and a half, to close a case, but there was something, the very essence on this particular case, that they had yet to figure out. Tony had checked everything and everyone he could think of as a possible candidate: the wife, the mistress, and the _wife's _mistress, even the butler! But to his damn luck none of them panned out. Even his younger male colleague, who was currently getting off the phone, looked bewildered. Tony was afraid this was going to turn into a cold case, which was a real shame in his eyes. Not because it was a notch lower for the 97% success rate Team Gibbs had accumulated throughout years of pushing to be the best, but for the victim; Corporal Lance Jim Damacos.

The forty-year-old Agent had seen many disfigured and dismembered bodies throughout his years, not only as an NCIS agent, but also as a Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore detective, but nothing had compared to the crudeness of this particular marines state of death. Upon first arriving at the crime scene he had thought it to be a usual dismemberment of the limbs; as stated in the report he heard before their arrival. What he hadn't expected was for the Corporal's limbs to look as if they had been physically removed by the power only a human stretcher could obtain. There were lacerations all over his torso, which had been placed up right on Damacos' sofa with the remaining body part's tossed all around the living area haphazardly. Finger's cut off – discovered to be premortem later in the case – toe nails pulled out and the Corporal's genital's squished, as if stomped on, on the living room floor. It had even taken the crime scene unit a few hours to finally locate his head; in the backyard, 'guarded' by his and his wife's dog. Not even Ducky, Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard, could give an approximation as to what was the original cause of death with the horrible state the Corporal had been in.

Week's of interrogations, chases, late night's spent in the office, and the continuation of having to sooth the boss' growing frustration about the case before he could lash out on an unexpected Special Agent Timothy McGee had left Agent DiNozzo stumped. For once, he could not come up with some witty banter to up lift his coworkers minds because he himself was too far within the case. He too had grown a certain respect for the marine who had saved a small Iraqi village from an American bomb that had "accidently" gone off. A man willing to jeopardize his career and be considered a traitor to save innocent lives, American or not American, was a good man in anyone of Team Gibbs' eye's, which made this case all the more important to solve.

Letting out a frustrated sign, Tony stood up from his chair, intending on getting himself another cup of coffee. "Coffee run, who wants?" He asked to no one in particular.

"I will have one if it would not be too much trouble." The team's exotic Israeli, Special Agent Ziva David, said.

"Alright. Anyone else? Boss, I'll take your disinterest in my question as a yes," Tony said, noticing his boss' smirk before turning to McGee. "Probie?" Nothing. Tony was puzzled; usually McGee answered him when it meant he'd be leaving the room. "McSilence." Still nothing. Tony was getting frustrated. It was one thing to possibly not hear his first call, but to blatantly ignore his second – defiantly audible – call was frustrating and rude. "McGee!" He shouted, finally getting the attention of the younger Agent.

"Wh– What?" He stuttered, taken aback by Tony's yell.

"I said do you coffee?"

"Oh… Uhm, no. Ac– Actually I think I found something. I'm not too sure yet though boss." The computer savvy Agent said as he turned to address their boss, former Marine; Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Everyone just looked at Agent McGee in silence waiting for a continuation, but none came as he kept his eyes trained on their boss. "Well, plan on sharing McGee." Agent Gibbs demanded rather then questioned.

"Uhm, yeah. Yeah… Oh! Yeah! O.K. So I realized that we had been looking into everything that Lance Corporal Damacos was doing after his mission in Iraq that turned into a village rescue considering it was a possibility that he was murdered for saving the people. But I figured I would run a few, on the side projects, –" getting up McGee quickly clicked the remote to open the over head screen so everyone in the Bullpen could see the Corporal's banking checks "– to see if there was anything weird going on before the Iraqi attack. Like a fixed atta–"

"It wasn't fixed." Firmly stated their boss, not bothering to listen to reason.

"Ye– Yeah, I figured that when I saw his bank notes…" McGee said, sweat starting to form on his upper brows. "Actually, I don't think his death has anything to do the attack. I think it has to do with a certain women whom he had been giving fifteen thousand dollars every second week too, until the money transfers suddenly stopped two weeks before his death."

"I do not understand. The Iraqi attack happened two months ago, how did we not see this before? We had looked into his bank account and there was nothing _stink-y _in there, no?" Ziva questioned.

"_Fish-y. _'There was nothing _Fish-y _in the bank account.'" Tony corrected with a hidden smile.

"Same difference." She countered.

"Actually, it was on the Lance Corporal's mistress' account or what we thought was her account. I was talking to her on the phone not to long ago asking about the money she had been seemingly _giving _to another women when she told me that it wasn't her account. Apparently Damacos didn't want anyone to know he was giving– what she said –a friendmoney. So he asked to create a bank account with her name in it, but it would actually be him using it and she were to have nothing, other than the signed paperwork and occasional bill– which she gave to him to pay for –to do with that account."

"So he was paying off someone, stopped and then that person wanted to get back at him… Seems a little over kill for someone only wanting extra cash, McGee." Tony grimly stated.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure if this women is the murderer, Tony. But the fact alone that our deceased gave her money repeatedly without anyone knowing is cause for an interrogation, wouldn't you say boss?" McGee asked attentively.

"Not if we don't know _who _she is McGee." Gibbs was getting a little frustrated by the continued beating around the bush of their suspect's name.

"Oh, Uhm. Let me check." McGee rushed over to his computer, tapping away as if it were second nature, learned and engraved into his brain so he'd forever be one step ahead of his other teammates. "Her name is… Eleni LoGreco."

Agent DiNozzo visibly tensed. It had been a long time since he'd heard that name, practically twenty-two years.

"Know her DiNozzo?" Gibbs questioned sharply.

"Oh! Please don't tell us. It was another one of your conquests, yes? Well, she is rather pretty," Ziva, stated, examining the image a smiling brunette, jealousy coursing through her veins, yet she desperately tried hiding the emotion from crossing her olive-toned features. "A little young even for you do you not think Tony? She has got to be no older that twenty-six."

"Twenty-eight actually," Tony replied grimly. He didn't want to tell them who she was and what his relationship with her was. Wanted to keep her blissfully safe and unaware of the harms that come from knowing Tony DiNozzo Jnr. But with the hard steely stare given to him by his boss, Tony confidently lifted his head to stare at the face of the little girl he once knew, "she's me cousin."

* * *

Author's Note:

First NCIS story, so feed back is always appreciated. Nothing to crude, please, but constructive criticism always appreciated. Question, comment.

Like I said in my HSM fic, I am a studying student who has recently started again, so updates are irregular.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **In the first chapter along with summary, genre, verse, pairings and ratings.

* * *

"What!" Cried Abigail 'Abby' Sciuto; being heard all through the basement corridor of the NCIS building. Team Gibbs' forensic science and nicest Goth they knew along with Jimmy Palmer, their second in command medical examiner were just told by McGee about Tony's cousin. "He has a cousin! I mean I know he has cousins, but he never mentioned a _girl _cousin. I mean you'd think Tony'd tell us about his family, especially _her. _I mean look at her!" She said trusting the photo of Eleni inches away from the young medical examiner's face. "She's beautiful. Not that I like her – I mean not that I don't not like her – I mean I don't even know her, but then again neither do any of us. So we can't really discriminate against a complete stranger because that's just be emora–"

"Abby." McGee laughed, even with her rambling Abby never ceased to amaze him. She had gone from completely shocked to confused to admirable to, finally, apologetic, trying to fix her wording and instead ending up in a monologue of defenses. "Believe me, I know she's beautiful." Only realizing what he'd said when not only Abby, but Palmer as well gave him an inquiring look he tried to explain, "I mean–"

"Oh we know what you meant Mr.. Don't try taking it back now." Abby said sternly before playfully adding, "you better be glad Tony's not here and that I don't tell him. God knows what he'd do if he knew you were thinking about his cousin in a less then professional manner. Tsk-tsk."

"You wouldn't!" asked the slightly paled agent.

"Relax Timmy." Said the forensic scientist before taking the photo out of the examining eyes of Jimmy Palmer. "Why do you think he never told us about her?"

"Eh?" Shrugged McGee. "You know Tony. He doesn't really share his personal life."

"Yeah, but he _does _brag about money, women, beauty and himself. She's half and probably all of those things if she's rich. She's beautiful, a woman and she's related to him _and _if she's like his other family member's she's most probably rich. It doesn't make sense that she was never brought up. To _any _of us."

"Yeah, you do have a point. I mean even Gibbs looked a little shocked. If anyone knew about her it'd be boss becau–" McGee froze at the snort he heard, coming from the only other man in the forensics lab. Along with Abby, the two turned to look at Jimmy Palmer who had taken to looking at everything in the room except for the eyes of his companions. "You think there's someone who knows more about Tony than Gibbs?"

"That– That's not what I… I wasn't implying anything…" Palmer stuttered.

"You snorted, that usually implies _something. _So? What did you mean by it?" Questioned Abby, with an undertone of suspicion.

"Nu– Nothing. Con– Continue your speculation about _Eleni_." Said Palmer, adding an accent to her name.

"Why did you pronounce her name like that?" McGee questioned, him too growing suspicious of the man in front of him.

"I didn't pronounce…" Palmer looked at their accusing faces nervously. "I have to get goi–"

"No, Tim's right. You did say her name funnily… Do you know something Palmer?" She asked taking a threatening step into his personal space. Swallowing audibly Palmer shook his head no. "You sure? Because, and I'll say it again, I know how to kill you and not leave a single ounce of forensic evidence." She said snidely.

"I know her!" He practically yelled. He couldn't take Abby's glares. Lying to her when she stared you down was like lying to the pope at a confession stand: impossible, unthinkable.

"What!" Abby exclaimed while McGee gapped at Palmer. "Does Tony know you know her? I mean, yeah considering he's her cousin and all, he probably does. But then again he is distanced with a lot of his family so maybe her too… How do you know her?"

Jimmy Palmer didn't know what to say. _I know her because I'm Tony's friend? No, too cruel. _He hadn't prepared himself for this; never had he thought he'd be telling people personal information about _Tony. _The man he trusts most in his dysfunctional work family. The man he considered more like a brother and the man who was there for him, jokes and teasing aside, Tony had always helped him out. He didn't want to_– couldn't –_betray him by revealing his most sacred secrets. But he did have to give the prying eyes of Abby and McGee an answer. "He told me." Simple. No need for a large explanation.

This time it was both Abby and McGee who were stunned into silence. _He told… Palmer? _Thought Tim. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The autopsy gremlin had been trusted to know guarded information, most probably willingly, by Tony. It hurt, knowing that Tony trusted Palmer more then Tim. But the anger over powered the hurt – for the time being. "Why would he tell _you?"_ he said harshly.

"Yeah, no offense Jimmy, but you and Tony just don't seem to be that close. Or at least as close as me and him are… were… are?" Jimmy's disclosure about Tony revealing secrets to him rather then her cut Abby deeply. She and Tony were– _are_ best friends. If he wanted to talk about some family matter he knew she was there for him and yet he had gone to Jimmy… _why? _"Why would he tell you?" She repeated McGee's question gently when Palmer hadn't answered

Palmer shrugged, "because I was there when no one else was." With that said, Palmer nodded his head once towards the confused pair and headed out of Abby's lab. Trying to get away from their wounded stares before he could fold and tell them everything.

* * *

When driving, Agent Gibbs usually liked the silence offered by his passengers. It offered time to himself, even in the company of others, where the only thing he had to listen to was his own mind. Now, however, it was unbearable. He wished, hoped, prayed his senior field agent, Tony, would crack a joke, quote a famous Sean Connery film, even criticize his reckless driving, but instead silence and the continuous turning of his minds wheels greeted him as he tried to understand the man sitting in his passenger seat.

When Tony first announced that their new suspect was his cousin he was, without a doubt, shocked. He hadn't believed him at first. Thought maybe he was playing a joke on them, going to say something dumb like: We're both sexy so we're _obviously _related. But no such remark came, only a quick, 'I'll gas up the truck boss. McGee put the route on the GPS' before heading towards the stairs.

Once the initial shock wore off Gibbs grabbed his gear and headed towards the elevator, barking orders at his other Agents before slipping into the closing metal doors. He was seething by the time the elevator doors closed and quickly pushed the emergency button on. At the time, he knew he had to calm himself; he couldn't show DiNozzo how angry not knowing about her made him. After a few deep, _calming _breaths he hit the emergency switch again and went to meet Tony. Now five minutes into their silent ride he could feel the anger boiling up again.

_Why didn't he tell me! _He thought while gripping the steering wheel a little tighter at his next consideration, _he doesn't trust you as much as you thought?_ Gibbs knew that Tony trusted his boss with his life, but Gibbs was starting to doubt if he trusted Gibbs with his personal life. Many times Tony had come to Gibbs seeking advice, venting his frustrations or asking for a quick 'remind me again why' slap behind the head, so why had he never told Gibbs about this one woman? Nevertheless, his anger towards his senior field Agent wasn't nearly as high as it was towards himself. It made Gibbs even more enraged knowing that he hadn't figured it out for himself. He was a man who prided himself in knowing practically everything about the Agent's on his team, yet he hadn't realized that Tony had a female cousin that his Agent tried even harder not to see then Anthony DiNozzo Sr., his father.

Putting his self-hatred in the back corner of his mind, Gibbs put a on his best no-nonsense mask conveying to Tony that he was dead serious. "Explain."

Tony sighed. He knew his boss was going to ask for an explanation, he just hadn't known when. He'd hoped it would be when they were closer to the location that way he could disclose as little as possible, but his boss demanded an answer now and that was what Tony was going to give him… With not as much personal information… _Hopefully._

"She's my cousin." He stated the obvious.

"Got that DiNozzo."

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes briefly, hoping he'll sound emotionless about the person of subject. "She's my cousin from my mother's side of the family. You remember I told you about my Uncle Clive who died?" Gibbs nodded "Yeah, well, she's his daughter."

"Thought you said he had a son, not a daughter?"

"Yeah, well… She's kind of a sour spot in the Paddington family history. Clive was married, had a son, my cousin Crispian, and then knocked up his mistress. Family divorced and his mistress died in child birth."

"How old where you?"

"Me? Oh I was eig–" He stopped himself before remembering the Paddington families second bad decision by fate; his mother's death. "Eight. I was eight."

Gibbs knew why Tony froze at his cousin's year of birth; surely it brought back unwanted memories and feelings. So Gibbs left the Italian sitting to his right time to compose himself with a few extra moments of silence before he continued Gibbs' enlightenment.

"She, uh, she was raised by her mother's parents, which is why she took on their family name; LoGreco, also Italian. But she spent ever summer with her father, my Uncle. It was, uh, during the summers where I usually saw her. I'd try to come down to see her, or invite her to stay a couple days at my father's house, because… Well, I never got along with her half brother and she, aside from my Uncle Clive whom I saw just as rarely, was the only connection I had to… to my mother… Eleni was really something though." Tony smiled at the remembrance of a time when he had picked her up for a piggy-back ride and when she was done she had patted her back in a 'your turn' gesture, debating tooth and nail that she was more then capable to carry him… at the age of six. "Me and her… We just connected. Even with the eight-year difference we were able to communicate with one another and never bore. And at the time, we related… quite a bit actually." He said only now realizing how similar the two had been.

"Oh yeah? How?" Asked Gibbs, intrigued that there was someone out there who Tony believe to be alike.

"We, uh, we both loved movies, but I think I sort of coaxed her into that. Our mother's… Well… Yeah…" He said uncomfortably. "We both joked, loved sports; especially basketball. And, even though I still don't know why, we both disliked our father's."

Gibbs smirked, _so the kid knew about Tony's father… _He was interested at the notion of a younger Tony being more open with a toddler then the older Tony was with his new/real NCIS family.

"Man, there was this one time when I spent the summer at my Uncle's country home in Long Island with her, her step-brother and the maid services. It was before I left for University and she begged to go to a bar with me–"

"You were underage." Gibbs stated, a little confused at how Eleni had known Tony had gone to bars and how Tony had gotten into them.

"Yeah, well with a fake ID and a twenty-one year olds feature's it was impossible for me to stay away from them." Tony smiled, recalling the memory. "Either way, I'd never take my baby cousin to a bar, so instead I took her to a country club. God did she ever hate it. She complained about the small food proportions, the annoying kids who continuously nagged her to play with them and the consistent way women kept 'falling at my feet' as she said. For an eight year old, she was the smartest person I knew. Even ended up picking me up a girl whom I actually dated for awhile." Tony laughed at the reminder of how she'd managed that.

God, did he miss her. To tell the honest, horrible, truth, Tony hadn't thought much about his baby cousin in over eight years; the day he went to his uncle's reading of the Will. He had been dreading the reunion, afraid at how she was going to react to him being there, but to his luck, and chagrin, she wasn't there. In fact no one aside from Crispian knew where she was and he was as closed lipped about her whereabouts as Gibbs is about his method of getting his boats out of the basement. After the reading of the Will Tony had felt empty, less about not getting the twenty-four million dollar estate, but about Eleni. He thought about her for practically two years nonstop; how was she doing, where was she, was she happy, did she think about him? It was only a little before a year after Kate had joined the team that he considered finding her, but whenever he got up the courage something always came up; being chained to a murderer, Kate's encounter with Ari, Abby's stalker, the plague. Then after Kate's death Tony had completely forgot about his dilemma of finding his _lost _cousin, because, well, he had other, more pressing problems to take care off. And then time had just… passed.

Thinking about seeing her again… now… with his team members made Tony queasy. Not only was she seeing the cousin who alienated her for twenty-two years, but she was also a suspect in a murder investigation. Tony cringed at what he thought her reaction would be, defiance.

"Why didn't anyone know about her?" Gibbs questioned snapping Tony out of his reverie.

Tony was no fool, he knew what Gibbs' question actually meant: Why didn't you tell _me _about her? However, Tony didn't know how he should answer why he never told Gibbs. In his mind, it was to keep her safe, but that was a lame excuse because he knew Gibbs wouldn't jeopardize someone, let alone someone he hadn't known's safety. So he explained the verbal question instead of the unspoken one.

"When I was eight-teen, she, uh, she was eight years old, and, uhm, there was, uh, this incident with my father. I didn't want to put her in harms way again so, uh, I lost contact with her. Completely went off the grid, in her case. She tried finding me a few times, but, uh, you know, she was eight, so aside from trying to call me there wasn't much she could do. After about a year or so she gave up. I guess she just got bored and found a new best friend, you know kids, their minds never stay on one thing for very long."

"_A year or so_, sounds pretty long for an eight-year-old to me." Gibbs said, a hint of sympathy in his voice. He knew it was hard on Tony to have to cut contact with probably the most important person in his life at the time, so when she stopped calling he probably felt rejected… again… _Ah hell!_

"Yeah, well, it was for the better. Anyways I didn't tell _you _because that part of my life was over. There was no need to bring it back up." Murmured the senior field Agent.

"What was the incident with Sr.?" Demanded Gibbs. He knew that if he asked Tony would say he didn't need to know, but Tony rarely ever defied an unspoken order and Gibbs needed to know what had happened for Tony to push away someone he loved that much. But Tony being the master unexpectedness and deflection announced, "were on her block."

_Shit._

* * *

**A/N:**

Hey, so here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Probably less anticlimactic, but worry not! Next chapter there shall ensue a chase, quick Tony whump, unknown feelings, and possibly (not to sure yet for the next chapter) an interrogation.

Thank you too all who have commented, are following, or added to favourite's! I'll try my darn hardest to get the next chapter up sooner rather then later.

Leave a comment, a critique, and constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcomed (Ex: If you believe a character is written oddly let me know what I'm doing wrong).


	3. Chapter 3

******Disclaimer: **In the first chapter along with summary, genre, verse, pairings and ratings.

* * *

Tony's hands were slightly shaking. He was about to encounter his cousin and he still couldn't figure out if it was a good idea or not. However, whether he was ready or not now didn't matter because he was about ten feet away from his cousin's… home? It wasn't by any standards a nice place to live. The neighborhood looked fine, but like every family area there had to be the one house that looked like pure crap and this one just happened to belong to Eleni. _Didn't she inherit some money for a better place…? _He mused as he took the steps two at a time.

When they reached the door Gibbs turned to his senior field Agent silently questioning him if he was ready. With Tony's hesitant nod Gibbs brought his hand to the door and knocked.

Nothing.

Gibbs knocked once more while adding, "Miss. LoGreco, NCIS we'd–" He was abruptly stopped by the sound of a slamming door. As if on cue DiNozzo and him quietly, yet quickly made there way towards the back. Half way around the house Gibbs' Marine training kicked in when he realized he currently heard absolutely _nothing. _Not a step or crunch of leaves. It was impossible for whoever fled to have disappeared without a sound… He suddenly realized that it was a ruse. He grabbed his partner's arm, effectively turning him around and motioned for Tony to follow him before the clatter of running feet was heard back in the front of the house.

Tony finally realizing what Gibbs had recognized as an escape strategy watched as a blur of red, white and brown shot out of the house. He took off in a sprint, following the escapee as she ran down the block, barely conscious that Gibbs had taken another route.

"Stop!" He screamed as he watched a mess of light brown locks swaying with the movement of the female escapee's, most probably Eleni, run. He could have sworn he saw the brunette falter when he called after her, but as the second went on and he thought he was getting closer to apprehending their suspect she took off at the corner in another mad dash. _Shit, she can run!_ He mused while panting in and outwardly. He hadn't remembered her being this fast, sure he knew she was a good runner, but he hadn't thought she would be _this_ good, sprinting marathon good.

For a second time Tony believed he'd caught his break and was going to catch the wanted sprinter when he saw that she, and inadvertently him, was nearing a traffic light. But Tony was always one to be struck by karma in some of the worse possible moments because just as he was going to grab for her she stepped of the sidewalk and into the passing traffic. "Stop!" He yelled desperation coupled in his voice. _Fuck! Is she nuts_? She was going to kill herself trying to avoid collision with a passing car while simultaneously crossing the street; nevertheless he couldn't bring himself to go in after her. If karma wasn't on his side today, what's to say that if he went in after her and when he reaches her karma decides to kick him where it really hurts; by hurting someone he cares about; Eleni. So he waited anxiously for the light to turn so he can get her out of trouble's way… and hoping that she wouldn't escape.

She was almost at the end of the street when the light finally turned red and walking sign was turned on. Just when he was about to start after her he saw the familiar government owned car cross the red light and stop inches from the runaway women. Stepping out of the vehicle Gibbs raised his gun at their suspect, saying something Tony couldn't quite hear from his distance. As he walked slowly towards the two Tony observed the action taken before him in a dreaded slow motion as he realized he was nearing the runaway women who is most certainly his cousin. He watches as the female suspect raises her arms in a gesture of surrender while Gibbs walks up to her cautiously before grabbing her arms and shoving her against the side of the car door, effectively cuffing her wrists.

"Planned on letting her get away, DiNozzo?" Gibbs deadpanned.

"Nah, I thought I'd let you have the pleasure of catching her Boss." Tony smirked. Gibbs just glared.

Then as if the two had forgotten about their apprehended suspect a slightly timid, hesitant female voice was heard, "Tony?"

Tony's heart broke; it was defiantly her. She sounded just like she did twenty-two years ago when he found her at his house crouched in the corner of his dimmed light living room; scared that it wasn't actually him. "Si Elenitsa."

Slowing moving away, Gibbs watched as the scene in front of him unfolded. Eleni was slowly turning around as if afraid of what was behind her. Hands still clasped behind her back, the 5"6 brunette stared in shock at the man before her. Gibbs watched a mixture of emotions cross her face as she walked towards Tony; fear, worry, sorrow. A million emotions that told a tale Gibbs had yet to discover. But then, as if a light switch had turned off, her features changed into anger and before Gibbs could react she lifted her leg and successfully kneed her own cousin in the crotch. "Hey!" Gibbs shouted as he grabbed for her.

Struggling against the hard grip pulling her away from a man she once knew Eleni watch as Tony slowly fell to the cement street; rolling in agony. Letting out a grunt when the elder man pushed her against the car, she craned her neck to the side to stare defiantly at Tony before maliciously replying in Italian, "Don't you dare call me that you bastard!"

* * *

The familiar _ding _of the elevator reaching its destination brought Ziva out of her trance. Every since Gibbs and Tony had left to pick up Eleni she couldn't stop analyzing the situation: Tony had a cousin no one knew about. She could not figure out what it meant, so that is how she found herself in autopsy, searching for the one man she thought could help give her the answers she desperately needed.

"Ah! Ziva my dear!" Exclaimed the primary NCIS medical examiner, Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard.

Ziva jumped, she had not expected Ducky to turn up behind her, which unintentionally frightened her out of her reverie. She scowled herself for being so distracted that she had not noticed where Ducky was and for being surprised.

"Sorry my dear, I hadn't realized I'd frighten you."

"It is all right. I should not have reacted as such." She stated dryly.

They lapsed into a silence that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable it was just _there. _Ducky wasn't sure what or even if he should say anything. Ziva was not one to jump at the sound of someone calling her, so it was obvious that she had much on her mind. He wanted to give her the time to think over her words, not rush her. God knows that when you rush her she could–

"Do I seem… off my game?" She asked timidly.

Rarely had he heard Ziva sound so vulnerable and doubtful, it saddened him because Ziva was one of the most competent women he knew and she shouldn't be feeling unsure of herself. He gave her a soft smile, "Whatever do you mean Ziva?"

"You have not heard?"

Now Ducky was confused, what was he supposed to know? "I am afraid being all alone in this autopsy room I don't get much visitors to relay the daily talk."

"Oh, I am sorry. Well, Tony has a younger female cousin that no one knew about… not even Gibbs." Ziva watched as shock crossed the elderly man's features. _So he had not known either._ "She is a possible suspect in Damacos' murder investigation. Gibbs and Tony have gone to pick her up–" she looked at her watch, "– forty minutes ago… Ducky?" She questioned averting her eyes from his.

"Yes?" He saw the hesitation in her voice and knew she wasn't asking if he had heard her. Instead the question of his name was toned unsurely, tentative about asking her real question.

"Do you trust me?"

Trust. _Ah!_ Trust had always been one of the key values in Gibbs' team. More then once had they relied on the trust of another team member to help in a dreadful situation and many times had they not, which lead to disaster such as Ziva's imprisonment in Somalia. He wasn't quite sure what trust had to do with Tony's cousin, but he was going to find out. "With my life."

At Ducky's response Ziva lifted her sorrow filled eyes with a glimmer of hope. He was sincere, she knew he would never lie to her about trust, but she could not bring herself to let go of her doubt, thus needing him say it out loud. "Then why did Tony not tell me about Eleni LoGreco? Does he not trust me?"

"Her name is Eleni? Beautiful name. I re–" Ducky cut himself off. He knew that he tended to get off topic with stories of his past, but this once he knew, above all, that now was not the time for his stories. "I do not think it has to do with trust my dear Ziva. Anthony is a complex – _very _complex – man, but one thing that is as certain to him as the mixture of red and yellow make orange is that he trusts you. Trust has two intentions my dear: emotional and logical trust. There is no doubt in my mind that he trusts you with both. Logically, he trusts you to watch his six in an undercover operation or to simply agree with him in an argument. Emotionally… Well, that one's a little difficult for our young Anthony. He does trust you Ziva, it just takes time for him to be ready enough to say his emotions out loud. He trusts you to help bring him back to the world when life's cruelty tends to knock him down and enough to treasure the friendship the two of you share. He may not come out and tell you, _us, _everything about himself or his family, but when he does it's… it's enough."

Ziva stood there, her brain's wheels turning a mile a minute, taking in everything Ducky had just told her. For the past year Ziva had started to fully trust Tony again. There were times when she was doubtful, especially after his stint with SecNav, but in the end she always found herself trusting him completely. He had been there… _always. _Even when she was most cruel to him he stuck by her; uninvited dinner parties, Gibbs' departure, Michael's murder, Somalia, Ray's betrayal. Everything he did with her was _for _her. Yet, Ziva could not shake the feeling that because of all her selfishness he still did not trust her enough to tell her everything. "Trust it to tell your partner _everything_. He did not trust me enough to tell me about a women, whom I believe to be very special to him, in his life. How can you call that trust?" Spat the Israeli beauty, venom coursing in her words as she thought about his deceit

"Do you trust him?" Ducky said calmly, trying to ease her roughness.

"With my life."

"Then why did you not tell him about being framed for assassinating an Iranian prisoner years back? Why had you gone to Gibbs, who may I remind you was retired and in Mexico, for help instead of your present at the time boss and partner, Anthony?"

"That is different." She stated matter-a-fact.

"You're right, my dear. If anything yours is worse." He stated before turning away from her to grab his forgotten tea at his worktable.

"What!" She practically yelled, following Ducky.

Taking a small sip from his now mildly warm tea, Ducky stared Ziva right in the eye, "Well, Anthony just didn't tell you about a relative from his past; with whom I am assuming he doesn't talk to much anymore. Whereas you fled a, at the time, present danger. You _trusted _someone else to help you through a tough situation."

"I went back to Tony." She affirmed trying to justify her reasoning's.

"Only after Jethro agreed to come back and help you. But we are getting off topic. My dear, this has nothing to do with trust. He does trust you and you shouldn't doubt it for one moment." He said before placing his teacup down and reaching over for Ziva's hands. "This has to do with emotion. Have you thought about poor Anthony? He told _no one._ That means something… Did you realize that the less he talks about someone the more he cares? Maybe the reason he never mentioned Miss LoGreco was because he couldn't bear the memories. We mustn't blame Anthony for not telling us about someone he cares for." Ducky gave Ziva's hands a final reassuring squeeze before going back to his tea.

Ziva knew not to fight with Ducky about something that she knew to be true; it would just be bold headedness – thick headedness…? – Of her. _He really cares for her… _Tony could not tell them about Eleni because it brought memories that he did not want to dwell on. Ziva had not even considered that a possibility when she was getting the interrogation room prepared, but now that Ducky had pointed it out it seemed the most logical explanation.

"Is she to be brought here?" Duck asked, sipping his tea.

"Yes, we have to interrogate her for Damacos' case."

"A well, as you can see I was having my evening tea when you came down. Would you care to join me?"

"Thank you, but I should be getting to Abby's–"

The sudden grunt emanating from the autopsy's sliding doors paused Ziva. She and Ducky turned to see what the commotion was before gasping at the sight in front of them. Gibbs was shouldering half of Tony's weight as Tony limped, holding an ice pack close to his… Penis? Ziva did not bother to continue her train of thought as she rushed over to the pair, helping Gibbs with some of Tony's weight as they walked towards an examining table. Questions of: what happened? And are you O.K.? Echoed in the room as Ducky moved some of the equipment on the table's surface.

"Tony's–" Gibbs started, but was interrupted by a shocked Jimmy Palmer, "Tony! What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Tony grunted as he placed the ice pack back on his core.

"Anthony my boy, as your personal physician I should advice you that an attack to your lower region can cause many serious problems… Maybe we should take you to the emergency room?" Ducky said as he started taking out his medical kit.

"No–" he groaned, "–hospitals." Tony hated hospitals, he thought his friends would know that by now there was no use asking him to go because they'd always get the same answer; no. "Beside's it's not that bad."

The silence the room fell into as Ducky started his examination of Tony's injuries was interrupted as the hum of two muffled bickering voices sounded from the other side of the autopsy room's glass doors. Ducky took out his tiny medical flashlight and placed it towards Tony's eyes just as Abby and McGee came into the room, yelling words that were too fast for anyone to comprehend.

"–lanation as to what you meant upstairs about T–" Abby was saying, arms waving around and stomping on her platform boots as she spoke a mile a minute before she laid eyes on Tony. She froze. Tony was in pain, why was Tony in pain? Tony should _never _be in pain. "Tony! Oh my Goodness are you all right? What happened? Who did this to you? Tell me so I'll find them and so help them I'll–"

"Abby!" Gibbs practically yelled trying to get the younger woman's attention. "He's fine."

"Well thank you very much for your speculation Boss-man, but I'd like to hear it from the man who actually _has _the pain." She said defiantly before sitting next to Tony and giving him a sideways hug, "Are you _really _O.K.?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me Abby." He said looking her in the eyes. His attention was then brought to his younger male partner, Tim, who stood frozen at the same spot from when he'd first seen Tony. "You O.K. Tim, you look a little pale?"

Tim was stunned. All his anger and frustration that had been focused towards Tony before was now gone, placed with melancholy and anxiety. "Y-yeah. I mean, I just– You're– Did she– Are you sure you're O.K.?" Usually when Tony got injured he tried his hardest to hide the fact, but now he was showing everyone that he was fairly in pain… It was worrisome, especially for Tim. Tony was like his brother and he couldn't stand the thought of him going through something not as painful, but painful enough as the Black Plague. Whenever he saw Tony sneeze, cough; get shot, or anything _bad _Tim could feel his heart rate exceed its normal limitation and his blood pressure rise. If anything happened to Tony… Tim wouldn't know what to do. He was Tim's mentor, friend, superior, brother, _Family_, which is why when he first walked into the Autopsy room he froze. He hadn't known what had happened and it _scared _him.

"Aw, you care Timmy!" Tony replied in mock thanks.

"Ye– I mean– You're… Uh… Uhm, what exactly happened? Where's Eleni?" Tim asked, trying to hide his flushed face.

"Securities bringing her to interrogation." Growled Gibbs, an underlying rage that only Tony knew to whom it was directed to. "Tony, how you feeling?"

Tony immediately sobered his expression, looking as nonchalant as he could with the pain still throbbing in his lower regions. "I'm good, Boss."

"My boy, how, if you don't mind me asking, did you injure your phallus?" Ducky asked as he finished his examination and handed his equipment to his assistant; Palmer.

"Yes Tony. How _did _you get hurt?" Smiled Ziva, as if knowing that Tony's story would be interesting.

"Well Zee-Vah, if you _really _need to know… Gibbs and I had just arrived at the suspect's house when there was this huge–"

"Eleni kneed him." Gibbs affectively cut off Tony's soon to be over exaggerate tale that was far from the truth.

Tony groaned when he heard McGee snicker and Ziva out right laugh. He figured they wouldn't believe the story he was going to tell them, but it was better than knowing that his cousin kicked him in the balls. _Ugh, I'll never live this down!_

"She put up a fight… Even after she saw you?" At Jimmy's soft question Tony looked to the soon to be married man. Jimmy knew about Eleni, Tony remembers telling him about her on one very pathetic drunken night that Tony wished to never relive. At first Tony though it would be horrible for someone to know more about his family history/life, but after a while it became reassuring. He knew that Jimmy would never reveal someone else's, especially Tony's, personal information. So instead of telling Jimmy that it was a onetime thing Tony found himself hanging out with the young medical examiner more and more outside of work, getting drinks together and telling stories he hadn't told anyone, not even Gibbs.

"Uh, no. She tricked Gibbs and me… Created a diversion and when we went one way she ran for it in the opposite direction. Chased her twelve blocks and one traffic crossing before I–" and there came the tell-tale head slap Gibbs felt DiNozzo needed "–Gibbs got her… And _then _she kneed me."

"Wow, she ran twelve blocks without you catching her!" Abby exclaimed.

"Yeah, you should have seen her. I'm telling you, she would have given Ziva a run for her money." Tony added with a hint of admiration.

"Why would I run for my money, it cannot run…?" Ziva asked. Glad that Tony was smiling, but confused at his phrasing.

"It's a figure of speech my dear. It means that she is extremely good at running and could most probably beat the one person we believe to excel in it, you. The origins are quite interesting actually. It was first used in–"

"Duck." Gibbs stated dryly, they didn't have time for one of his many explanations of irrelevant knowledge. Tony was looking better and they had a suspect in interrogation to be interrogated, Gibbs didn't want to waste anymore time twiddling their thumbs. "DiNozzo! You ready?"

Tony was taken aback from Gibbs question and looked down from his probing stare. Was he ready? He was sure he would never be ready, but things had to go one; there were things to do, people to see and Tony… Well, Tony had to go see the one person who meant possibly just as much to him as every single –_living–_ person in autopsy. With a sigh Tony looked up to the team leader determinedly, "Yeah."

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Here's chapter 3. I know I'm avoiding the inevitable; Tony and Eleni's real "first" talk. It might happen in the next chapter it might not. You'll understand what I mean by that in Chapter 4. I all ready have half of the outline for the chapter, but I'm struggling with the finish of the interrogation. Either way, it's a REALLY LONG weekend where I am... So hopefully you'll have another chapter in 5 days? Yeah?

Comment, question, critique.

Oh, and thank you to my lovely followers and the people who have written to me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **In the first chapter along with summary, genre, verse, pairings and ratings.

* * *

Ziva and McGee stood silently watching their suspect sit, unmoving in the interrogation room.

"She is too calm." Ziva stated trying to understand the woman on the other side of the glass window. She was intriguing in Ziva's mind because unlike many other female suspects she hadn't moved once. Eleni just sat in her seat, the movement of her eyelids being the only indication of life. She was a mystery that Ziva could not wait to solve.

"Is it just me or does she remind you of someone? I mean, the cool, calm exterior making her completely unpredictable…" McGee said calculating Eleni through the one-way window.

"Interesting." McGee jumped not expecting anyone to be behind him, especially Ducky.

"Ducky! Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Nonsense my boy… My, she is quite beautiful."

"Oh my God, I know right!" exclaimed Abby, walking into the observation room, followed by Jimmy Palmer. "You didn't see a photo of her before Ducky?"

"Fortunately I hadn't." He smiled.

"Fortunately Doctor?" Questioned Palmer.

"Yes, you see with a photograph I would be seeing only what the person inside the photo wanted me to see; the perfect smile, coiffed hair, rosy lips. But here, in person, you see her without the pose, in a more realistic three-dimensional beauty. With her photo I may have just inquired that she was very lovely, but in person I am in complete awe." Ducky said staring at the young woman in the opposite room. With Eleni's Italian origins and relations to Tony, ducky had not expected _this. _She resembled what he could only assume the Greek Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, would look like; frenzied light brown locks reaching just below her pale slender shoulders, hazel eyes that, Ducky believed, many men have gotten lost inside and full, pale-pink lips. _Ah, if only to be young again._

"That is a rather… interesting concept, Ducky… Mind me asking what the three of you are doing here?" Ziva questioned.

"Are you kidding me?" Abby said turning towards Ziva shocked that the ex-Mossad Officer even had to ask. "We wouldn't miss this for _anything!"_

McGee laughed at Abby's answer, obviously he and Ziva weren't the only ones interested in the enigma that is Eleni LoGreco. Turning back towards the glass window McGee studied their still suspect. She _was _unusually calm… "You're right Ziva… She does look a little _too _calm. You think she's going to lawyer up?"

"No." Abby said before Ziva could answer. "She's too smart for that."

"How do you know that?" McGee asked doubtfully.

Abby couldn't place her finger on it yet, but Eleni reminded her of someone. The way she sat in her seat firmly, staring at the one-way mirror as if she knew there were people on the other side sizing her up. It was very familiar. Eleni was oozing confidence and control just like, "well, is it just me or is she giving off some serious Gibbs vibes to you guys?"

Silence feel over the group as they all turned towards Tony's cousin. Shocked that Abby had hit a bull's eye; so far Eleni seemed like the female version of Gibbs… _Creepy, _they all thought, unknown that anyone else had the same idea.

"She certainly is a puzzle. One that none of us could yet predict much less solve." Ducky said moving closer to the window divider.

"Jimmy probably can." Mumbled McGee still agitated that the autopsy gremlin had known about Eleni and he hadn't.

Palmer froze at McGee's words, eyes widening in horror as Ziva and Ducky gaped at him. Realizing that it was going to be easier to tell the truth then when he told Abby and McGee because not only was he going against a man who studied human psychology, but also he was going to have to resist a trained assassin. Ziva's dark brown eyes glared daggers at Palmer, "What does McGee mean 'Palmer probably can', Jimmy?"

He shifted nervously, "Uh, I… He means, I– You see… I–"

"Ugh, it means Jimmy knew about Eleni. Tony apparently told him about her. Jimmy gave us a really weird excuse, which, by the way I still don't understand. I mean, when were we not there? We were–"

Abby was cut off as Ziva shoved Palmer against the window over looking the women in question, pressing her forearm over Palmer's throat. "Why did Tony not tell us about Eleni, but told you!" She demanded.

Jimmy was in shock; he hadn't expected Ziva to escalate to such physical violent measures to get the truth out of him. He tried struggling away from her, but once he realized that Ziva wasn't going to let go of her hold even as his other three companions tried to ease her away from him, Jimmy began to answer her question frantically. "It was a long t–time ago and T–Tony was feeling really bad, uh, it was most probably one of his darkest moments in life, s–so he confided in the only person who was there for him; m–me. I swear I don't know a lot about her! H–he only talked about her twice with me before and it wasn't much! I–I–I swear Ziva. P–please, please don't hurt me." He said quivering in front of her piercing glare.

Finally giving into the other's hysterical protests, Ziva let go of Jimmy, taking a few steps away from him without breaking eye contact. When Abby said that Jimmy knew about Eleni and Tony had _told _him about her, Ziva, for a lack of a better term, 'lost it'. Her initial unknown questions of why he hadn't told her resurfacing at the prospect of Tony telling someone else, someone she believed to be less of friend and more of an acquaintance, instead of her. Then only after Jimmy's explanation, when he had started to beg did she realize their position. She was so fueled by rage she hadn't even realized that she had Jimmy pinned against the one-way mirror. However now… now she only felt hurt. _Why would Tony tell him? When had they not been there for him?_ Ziva looked away, so Jimmy would not see the sorrow fill her eyes, "when?"

"P–pardon me?" Questioned Jimmy, confused at the sudden mood change and still internally trembling by her aggressiveness.

Finally looking back up she saw the questioning gazes of all her colleagues. "You said it was one of his darkest moments and you apparently were the only one there for him. When did he tell you?"

Understanding what Ziva was asking, Jimmy looked down at his hands that had started to pull on his shirt. He noticed that it was not only Ziva, but also everyone else in Observation that wanted to know when Tony had been, well, alone. However, Jimmy knew he couldn't betray Tony's trust and if that meant being physically attacked by a trained killer, well then he was just going to have to deal with it. "I'm sorry Ziva, guys, but… I can't –_won't_– tell you when."

Silence fell between them, questions of 'why' echoing inside their minds. Until it was Ducky who finally vocalized their thoughts, "Why not Mr. Palmer? We are all here for Anthony, none of us would think any less of him."

"I'm sorry Dr. Mallard, but…" He let out an exacerbated breath, "Tony told me these things in his time of desperation, things that other's shouldn't know unless _he_ himself chooses to tell. And from the brief stories he's told me about Eleni… Well, I _really _wouldn't feel comfortable disclosing that information." He added with a hint of dread.

"Well whatever you're not telling us, we might find out now. Looks like Gibbs and Tony are ready to start the interrogation." Stated McGee looking away from the assistant medical examiner and into the interrogation room that was now filled by three.

* * *

Eleni wasn't sure what was happening, why did the "police" come and pick her up and whywas _Tony_ with them? She had been sitting in the interrogation for what she could only assume –considering the guards took her watch– was twenty minutes. It had given her time to reflect on what had happened when she first saw Tony. She had to agree; she probably did over react by kicking him in the groin when he said her name, but she knew without a doubt that if she hadn't done that she probably would have done something just as sinister. Running into his arms, smiles and laughter gracing her lips would have been like hiding all the hurt and torment she went through after he… _left? _She still didn't know what she'd done to make him disappear from her life and it angered her. He had been her best friend, trusted confidant and, aside from her grandparents, the only family member she loved. Now he was just a bastard, _guess he's trying to live up to the Paddington/DiNozzo name._ She scoffed at the thought.

_Bang! _Eleni jumped when she heard a disturbance on the other side of the mirror, assuming there was some sort of tussle happening in the other room. She didn't understand why Tony and the older man had brought her here, wherever here was. When she had first heard the banging on her house's door she had immediately moved to the back exit believing her ex-boss was finally making his move on her. She _hadn't _expected, for what she believed to be, the _good_ cops to be picking her up. And for what, she had no idea. It has been years since she'd been in trouble, so her most resent pick up was puzzling.

Hearing the door to her left opening, Eleni turned her attention from the one-way mirror to her new companions: Tony and the white haired man who'd cuffed her. _He looks older, more mature. Handsome, _she mused as she looked at Tony. God, did she miss him. Looking at his hazel green eyes her anger at her current situation instantly softened.

He had always brought out the best in her. Even though she had only seen him for three months in a year when she was younger he always made her laugh and forget about the hatred she carried towards the world… but then he'd left. Left her to deal with a world she could only describe as monstrous. People stealing, cheating, murdering, deceiving and generally hurting one another was what she had to grow up with. Growing up in a world where love was only in her dreams. Tony had probably thought he was leaving her in the good hands of her loving grandparents, but if he'd bothered to answer his phone he would have known that they died at the hands of a drunken idiot driver only four months after his disappearance from her life. _Don't think of them Eleni. It will only make you sad and Tony _doesn't _need to see you as weak, _she mentally argued. Figuring she couldn't do the interrogation with Tony in the room without falling apart, Eleni hardened her facial features, looking away from Tony and boldly at his elder colleague.

Gibbs and Tony sat on the opposite side of the interrogation table, looking at their apprehended suspect. She looked relaxed, calm, as if she knew something they didn't. It innerved Gibbs. She had a determination that he'd seen in himself many times before, in his senior field Agent and a few times in his other colleagues. _Damn, this isn't going to be easy. _"Miss LoGreco, do you know why you're here?"

"Eleni, please. LoGreco is my family name and I would prefer no association with it." She said without looking to see Tony's reaction because if she had she would have seen confusion cross his striking eyes.

"_Miss LoGreco." _Gibbs said a little harsher. Slowly continuing, "Do you. Know why. You're here?"

_Bastard, _she thought. "Well _Mr.– _I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." She said intimately.

"_Agent _Gibbs." He growled.

"Well _Mr. _Gibbs I would be glad to answer any questions you have for me, but I will not so long as Mr. DiNozzo is in the room." She said briefly looking at the face of one very confused and hurt Tony.

"My interrogation, my rules." Answered Gibbs, practically amused that she thought she had the upper hand.

"My rights, your answers." She countered.

"Elenitsa–"

Her hand slamming in a Gibbs-like gesture against the metal table cut off Tony, silencing him as she stared unblinking at his boss. "_Mr. _Gibbs if you don't remove your friend then I will be out of here before you have a chance to even look bewildered."

"_Agent." _He corrected growing angrier by her persistence. "And I highly doubt that."

Eleni let out a quick burst of laughter, "Oh yeah? I wonder how your superior will feel when he finds out you arrested a civilian and had _yet _to read her the Miranda rights."

Gibbs was speechless, he couldn't have possibly forgot to read her the– _Damn Tony and his constant danger! _He swore, realizing that because of Tony's state of injury he'd completely forgot to do the one thing he _never _forgot to do. _Damn,_ she was good and if it weren't for their particular situation Gibbs would have been in complete awe with Eleni, instead of frustrated. "Tony leave." He said without looking away from the petit brunette across from him.

"Boss–" Tony started, unbelieving that Gibbs was actually making him leave the interrogation of his baby cousin.

"Now." Gibbs said, leaving no room for an argument.

With a huff Tony got up and stepped out of the room, only letting the hurt grace his face when he was in the hallway, completely alone.

* * *

Stepping into the observation room Tony was shocked to see the sympathetic faces of not only Ziva and McGee, but also Ducky, Abby and Palmer. He knew they were all thinking 'poor Tony', but for once he didn't want their sympathy. He didn't want anything from _them. _He just wanted them to have not seen his "interaction" with his cousin. He wanted his current situation to have never happened.

Jimmy walked towards Tony, deciding to be the first to break the uncomfortable silence the eldest Agent was most defiantly feeling. "I doubt she meant anything by it Tony. I mean she's probably just in shock. Give her some time and you'll see, she'll be begging to see you."

Tony snorted at the prospect of Eleni begging, "yeah, some how I really doubt that, Jimmy. I mean look at her!" He said waving his arms at the glass window overlooking the room he had recently been kicked out of. "She's freakin' staring _Gibbs _down. How many of you've done that? If she's able to do that… She's able to snub me." Hurt evident in his voice.

Tony's five companions in observation just watched. Never had Tony sounded so wounded and in front of them _all. _Ziva was about to speak when they all turned at the finalization of Gibbs' voice, "Now that we have the Miranda rights cleared, do you know why you're here?"

* * *

Eleni thought over Agent Gibbs' question, does she really know why she's here? _No! _"I can honestly tell you no I do not."

"You fled from government officials during an ongoing murder investigation." Clarified Gibbs

"That's only because I thought you were someone else."

"We stated out Agencies initials."

Eleni scoffed, "yeah… What was it again, NCYS? It may sound legit to you, but to a fleeing civilian it just sounds like bad news."

"NCIS," Gibbs corrected, "who were you running from?"

Eleni looked at the older Agent quizzically, he had yet to tell her what her interrogation was about and she was not going to give him any more information without knowing the details. "What's this about?"

"Lance Corporal Jim Damacos. Know him?" Gibbs said while opening up a brown folder, looking at its inside contents.

"Uh, yeah. We're… we're friends. Is he in some sort of trouble?"

Pulling out a photo from the folder Gibbs placed it on the table, "you could say that." He tapped on the colored photo, indicating for Eleni to look at it, "he's dead."

Eleni opened her mouth to protest, but when she looked down at the photo all her objections died on her lips. There was no mistaking it was Jim. The photo Agent Gibbs had placed in front of her was of Jim's decapitated head; his eyes shut and mouth agape. The sight should have terrified her and although it was one of the most gruesome sights she's seen, it was just a photo. She had seen tragedies, such as Jim's, in reality, so her reaction to this photo didn't frighten her. No, it angered her. _Why would anyone go aft– _She cut off her musing when she saw the next row of photos Agent Gibbs lay out in front of her. "May I?" She asked.

Gibbs nodded his approval in letting her take a closer look at the photos. He was surprised; he reaction to her _friend's _decapitated head was… different. Usually suspects would gag, throw up, cry or even let out a low gasp. Studying her every reaction he noted that Eleni did none of it. She stared at the photos unmoving as if she had seen it so many times before that photo's such as the Corporal's didn't faze her. He was starting to think that she had the personality of a psychopath; showing no sign of remorse, but then she let out a gasp. "I have to leave." Hurryingly pushing her seat away from the metal table.

"Sit down!" Gibbs said ruthlessly.

"You don't understand… I have to leave." Practically begging, Eleni looked all around the interrogation room as if a human predator was watching her every move and she was trying to locate where they were.

"Miss LoGreco, you are being investigated for the murder of Lance Corporal Jim Damacos. You don't leave until I tell you to leave."

"You think I did this!" She shrieked throwing the photo she'd picked up in Gibbs Direction.

Gibbs took the photo from its landing place, looking down, trying to find the piece of evidence that frightened his suspect. Not finding anything Gibbs slowly pushed up in a standing position, staring her down defiantly. "Until you prove yourself innocent, you're guilty."

"You do know it's; innocent until proven guilty, right?" She countered, leveling herself to be at as much an equal height she could get with the taller man.

"Not in your case."

"Mr. Gibbs–"

"_Agent." _He growled threateningly.

"Eleni." She responded.

Gibbs let out a low growl. He had to hand it to her, she was more determined than a lot of people he knew, she even went against _him. _Rarely had anyone done that and when they did there was always their underlying sense of dread at the prospect of what Gibbs would do after they stated their argument. She, on the other hand, didn't look frightened about her consequences. With a huff Gibbs settled, "fine, Eleni."

"Finally!" She exhaled, "Look _Agent _Gibbs; I didn't –couldn't– murder Jim. He and I… we're… It's hard to explain." She said, trying to explain hers and Jim's relationship.

"You're his lover."

Eleni choked on her saliva, her and Jim were many things, but lovers? They hadn't been lovers in years. "What? God no! I mean, we were back in high school, but he's married. And even with his rough patches with Loraine I would never try to get in between someone's marriage."

Sincerity, it's what Gibbs could only describe as the emotion displayed in her eyes. "Were you aware of Lance Corporal Damacos' affair with a Mrs. Natasha Summers?"

Eleni let out a pained breath, "yes. I told him that he shouldn't be leaving Loraine alone, but ah… I don't know; some men enjoy being ass-holes." She flickered her eyes at the mirror behind the grey haired Agent, no longer only talking about Jim. "Can I go now?" She asked desperately.

"No." Gibbs deadpanned, bringing Eleni's attention back to the reason she was in an interrogation room. "Where were you on July 17th between Oh-Nine-hundred and nineteen-hundred?"

"Uh… I was at a meeting." She said after figuring out what nineteen hundred meant: seven in the afternoon.

"What meeting?"

"A meeting with lots of witnesses." She said, hoping her weak elaboration would coax Agent Gibbs into letting her go.

No such luck. "Where?"

"Uh… I… I–" She stuttered before being silenced by Gibbs palm slamming against the table making her jump.

"Try again! This time, don't try giving me some pathetic excuse." Gibbs was getting impatient. She was building her own burial hole and although Gibbs didn't mind, he wanted her to quicken her process.

"Y–You can't talk to me that way." She sputtered.

"No? Just 'cause you have a relationship with one of my Agents doesn't mean I'll treat you any different from any other suspect." Gibbs stated, making it clear to her that she was getting no more special treatment from him. "Where. Were you? On July 17th?"

"I really was at a meeting…" She said averting her eyes from his penetrating sea-like one's.

"Yeah? And I'm just supposed to believe that without any physical evidence? Try. Again. Before I arrest you for the murder of Lance Corporal Damacos."

Eleni sighed, knowing when she was defeated. It was her moment of truth… Well, one of her moments. She really didn't want to tell this virtual stranger where she was, but more so she didn't want Tony to know where she was. Tony was a government agent; he'd done well with his life. He didn't need to know about her messed up one. Moreover, she didn't _want _him to know. He gave up the right to know about her personal life when he disappeared, her business was no longer his. But Agent Gibbs, whom she assumed was Tony's boss, was making it increasingly difficult to hide her repulsive life. "I was, uh, I was at an, uh, an anonymous meeting, for, ah…" Her hands were damp, she was stuttering her words and she legs were shaking. _God! Just get on with it! _"For recovering drug addicts." She dropped her head after her revelation, choosing instead to wipe her clammy hands against her shirt slowly. She'd all ready seen hundreds of people's disappointed and judging looks, she didn't need one from a federal agent.

Gibbs' feature's hardened –the only indication that he'd heard her– at her confession. He never liked to feel sympathetic towards drug addicts, mainly because they chose do commit the offense, but there was something about Eleni that melted his heart. Twenty-eight years old or not, she looked no older than Kelly did the last time Gibbs had seen her tear filled eyes. Clearing his throat and shaking his head in an attempt to get ride of the painful memories of his dead daughter; Gibbs got the attention from Eleni back. "People there will be able to identify you at the anonymous meeting?"

Eleni chuckled; people really didn't understand anonymous meetings. "Just 'cause we don't tell each other our names doesn't mean we can't pick out the regulars from the irregulars. The meeting started at nine and ended at eleven. And if you must know, after the meeting I went out for an early date with my sponsor that lasted two nights. His name's Greg Kadakis, phone number is 202-778-2098."

Briefly turning away from Eleni, Gibbs looked at the one-way mirror, giving McGee a silent command to call Mr. Kadakis and get his statement. "How long have you been in this program?"

"I really don't see how that's any of your business." The petit brunette said, crossing her arms over her chest warningly.

"All right, let's try a more direct question. Was Lance Corporal Damacos paying for your recovery?"

Eleni's breath caught. No one was supposed to know that Jim had paid for her recovery; if they had then he would be… _dead. Shit! _After seeing the photos of Jim's dead body, Eleni had brushed off the little warning symbol that indicated Jim was murdered because of her, but now they were confirmed. "Uh, no. You don't pay for anonymous meetings… You sort of just go into them." She said, hoping the Agent was bluffing about Jim's payments into her private bank account.

Taking another document out of the folder, Gibbs placed Eleni's and inadvertently Natasha's –actually Jim's– bank records on the metal table. "Why were you receiving fifteen thousand dollars every second week from Lance Corporal Damacos?"

"How did you know about that…?"

"We're good." He stated simply. "What was he paying you for?"

"He wasn't paying me for anything… He was, uhm… O.K. you have to understand, Jim and I knew each other for _fourteen_ years. We dated for a while and even though we broke up we still cared about each other, a lot. I was going through some serious shit about two years ago and he… Well he insisted on helping me. The money he was giving me wasn't for the anonymous meetings, but for a– a rehab center I went to before being released… four months ago."

"Why was he helping you inconspicuously?"

"Uh, the… The 'serious shit' I was referring to before, uh, well it required a certain amount of confidentiality." She said, revealing only a fraction of the truth.

"What–" Gibbs was cut off by the light knock on the interrogation room's door. McGee opened the door wide enough for Eleni to fully see their new companion.

"Mr. Kadakis vouched for Miss. LoGreco–"

"Eleni." She smiled.

"Eleni, sorry." McGee blushing, "uh, yeah. She has an alibi for the 17th, boss."

Usually Gibbs hated when people interrupted his interrogations, but the new information was uplifting. He now had a new angle to get the truth out of Eleni. "Thanks McGee."

Before McGee could leave the room Eleni called out to him. "Agent McGee! Please wait there one moment." She said before lifting herself up from her chair and looking back at Gibbs. "I believe I have answered enough questions Agent Gibbs. I can honestly tell you I have no idea what association killed Jim, but I do hope you find the bastards. Now, unless you want me to lawyer-up I would very much appreciate it if your Agent McGee could bring me home, considering I had a… _lift_ here."

McGee was speechless. Eleni had just _insisted _that Gibbs let her leave. _Had anyone ever done that?_ He thought skeptically. The two were having a threatening stare down, while McGee just gaped; astonished by the fierceness of Tony's cousin.

"McGee." Gibbs barked, snapping the younger Agent out of his state of shock. "Take _Miss LoGreco _back to her house." Gibbs said looking away from the Italian and to his junior Agent.

McGee stared at Gibbs, unsure if he should obey. But at Gibbs' soft commanding nod McGee quickly complied. "Uh, if you'll follow me Miss LoG– Eleni, we'll head down to the service cars and I'll bring you home."

"Thank you Agent McGee. _Mr._ Gibbs." She said with a farewell nod. With one final look at the mirror behind the older Agent Eleni turned and followed in the direction of Agent McGee.

_What the hell just happened? _Gibbs thought as the door to interrogation closed after Eleni and McGee's departure. Gibbs was about to start a fresh new line of questions when she'd lawyer-up. He'd honestly thought he'd had her; another challenge he thought he'd won. But she proved to be tough, not willing to lose a battle until the very end. And she had won this one…

While picking up the photos and documents askew on the table, a small smile twitched against Gibbs' lips. Their next meeting should be _very _intriguing.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hola fellow followers, so what do y'all think? It may seem like a short interrogation, but aren't they all on CBS? Was the interrogation a little out of Gibbs' character? I had a little difficulty doing his part because... Well, it's Gibbs and he's sort of a treasure, inside of an enigma, placed in a sealed box that is wrapped like a present.

Remember how in my previous chapter I said this was going to POSSIBLY be Eleni and Tony's first real talk. Well, I was making it so he was the one doing the interrogation, but I couldn't really go anywhere with it. So I made this instead. Does it suffice?

I wanted you all to know that I have pre-pre mid terms coming this week and next so I might be a little late in the next update. (I know, why the HELL would they make up something call 'pre-pre mid terms'? psycho's, much?) But do you guys feel spoiled? I feel like you're spoiled. I mean a new chapter practically every fourth day and they keep getting longer! It's like a double-whammy. Hopefully I am not disappointing.

Any pointers for other character's or ideas for the following chapters are always welcomed. I wouldn't mind thinking over your suggestions and MAYBE adding them into my story.

Comment, question, critique.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **In the first chapter along with summary, genre, verse, pairings and ratings.

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator, Eleni took one last look at her surroundings, noting every person that crossed her path. She always had the dreaded feeling that she was being followed or watched, but now those feelings were on an all time high. Her nerves were shot; there was only so much a person could take after an interrogation, especially under the very scrutinizing eye of Special Agent Gibbs. Eleni was sure that if she had stayed one more minute that man would have destroyed her defenses and tough exterior, making her nothing but putty in his, what looked like, calloused hands.

_Thankfully Agent McGee had showed up when he did, _she praised as she looked back at the younger, thinner Agent. He didn't look much like an Agent. Sure there was that certain ruggedness displayed across his face that only someone who'd seen years of torment, murder, despair, and anger could have, but he was also sweet and innocent looking. Unlike Tony who, with years of knowledge and growing up with the monstrosity we call Earth, had the hard, stone faced features, McGee looked like he should have been living the _simple _life with a wife, cottage home, and children running around. All the hatred he dealt with his job was, in Eleni's mind, killing his ingenuousness.

"Agent McGee, if you don't me asking, how long have you been working here at NCYS?" Eleni asked, her curiosity always getting the better of her.

"It's actually NCIS." McGee laughed.

Eleni blushed at the sweet sound of his laughter. "Sorry."

"No. No, don't worry about it. You're not the first to get the acronym wrong and for that matter you _defiantly _wont be the last." She smiled pleasantly at him, realizing that he was trying to ease her tenseness. "Uh, I have been working here for… Well technically nine years, but I've only been with Gibbs' MCRT for eight."

"What do you mean 'technically'?"

"I was a computer analysis for the first year and then I joined Team Gibbs." He stated, smiling at the memory of his first encounter with his eldest mentor. It hadn't been his best of first encounters, but he sure was glad it happened.

Eleni laughed, "'Team Gibbs'?"

McGee reddened. He hadn't meant to say the popular nickname Abby liked to refer to them by, but whatever Abby said always had a way of sticking in his mind. "Uh, well one of the people on our team once called us that and I… I don't know why I even called us that!" He said swatting his hand against his head, making Eleni laugh even more.

"Don't worry about it McGee… Oh! Uh, it's alright if I call you just McGee instead of adding the Agent considering it's longer and I don't know your first name right?" She rambled realizing that she had just talked to a federal agent as if he was her friend.

_She sounds like Abby when she rambles, _McGee mused. "Yeah that's fine. And it's Tim by the way. Timothy McGee." Eleni stopped walking at the mention of his name and McGee thought he'd done something wrong until he too stopped and looked back at her smiling face.

"It's lovely to formally meet you Timothy." She said extending her hand. "I'm Eleni LoGreco."

McGee chuckled_,_ "It's nice to make your acquaintance Eleni."_ She is something else._ Never had he met someone, outside of work, who not only shacked hands in a gesture of greeting, but also who called him by the name he was born into; Timothy. Usually he preferred Tim or McGee, but having her say his full name was nice, different. It gave him a sense of home, which he found strange considering the only people he thought to offer that familiarity was his real family or his surrogate NCIS family.

As they started to continue their walk towards the government issued car Eleni steadied her breath, preparing herself for the answer to her next question. "Uhm, Timothy?"

Tim looked down at the petit brown-eyed woman, "Yeah?"

She twisted her shirt nervously, trying to stay in step with the taller man. "How long has Tony been working with NCIS?"

Tim faltered in his steps. _What do I say! _Different voices of different team members echoed in his head answering his questions. He could hear the voice of Tony yelling at him to shut his trap and the warning of Gibbs' rule about secrets; the best way to keep a secret, keep it to yourself, second best, tell one other person if you must, there is no third. He knew he shouldn't tell or even be talking about Tony with Eleni, _isn't it like some sort of code to not talk about your friends behind their backs? _He didn't want to betray the trust Tony had given him and him Tony, but he couldn't find the mistake in telling Eleni when Tony started working at NCIS… _Was there? _It wasn't as if she couldn't find out on her own, all she had to do was ask the security guard, Ron –who'd been working at NCIS possibly longer than Gibbs– when Tony started and then Tim would look like a complete numbskull for not telling her. Deciding to go against the voices of his teammates and talk for himself, for once, Tim spoke. "He, uh, he's been working here for… eleven years? Yeah, he's been working with Gibbs for eleven years."

"What do you mean 'working with Gibbs'? What about the rest of 'Team Gibbs'? I mean I know you only started to be part of the group eight years ago, but you mentioned someone else, no?"

"Oh yeah. Well the person I was referring to before is Abby; she's our forensic specialist, I believe she was with Gibb's for eleven years as well, possibly more. Then there's Ducky and Palmer who work in autopsy, Ducky was with NCIS for longer then I know, but Palmer only really started to work for us about seven years ago. The three of them consist of the half of team Gibbs that isn't out in the field. Then there's myself, Tony, Gibbs and Ziva. Ziva's been with us for seven years, and for half of those years she wasn't even an NCIS agent she was our Mossad Officer Liaison."

"Mossad?" She asked quizzically.

"Oh, uh, Israeli special intelligence… It's… Well, it's complicated." He sputtered, finally realizing that he had told a suspect in their current murder investigation more about his team in less than five minutes then he'd told his father since starting at NCIS. "There's the car!" Tim said, glad that he was able to stop their conversation before he told her anymore than she needed to know.

Eleni opened the blue Dodge Charger, hesitating before she sat down in the passenger seat. Tim's revelation that Tony had been working with NCIS for eleven years still made her mind reel. Tony had been working for a government corporation for _eleven years _and from the way Tim talked to her, Tony hadn't mentioned her _once. _Eleven years and he hadn't looked for her, checked to see if she was doing O.K.? _Sonavubitch! _She swore as she thought about all the hard work she'd put into finding him when she didn't have any form of government gadgets.

* * *

Eleni spent her whole first year after Tony's disappearance calling him, trying to find out where he'd gone or if something had happened to him. The following four years she'd spent physically looking for him. Making stops at his house, talking to relatives in the DiNozzo family, but it was on the forth year when she'd finally got up the nerve to call Anthony Sr. that she found Tony. She spent five years looking for him, only to find out that a few states over he were attending Ohio State University, OSU. She was glad he'd gotten into the school of his dreams, but she was mad that he hadn't told her.

She tried calling the dorms, asking if she could talk to him, but he was always busy; either with friends, girls, and fraternity parties, or football and basketball.

"Why don't you just go see him?" Fourteen-year-old Jim Damacos suggested as he looked at the girl who was slowly becoming his best friend.

"With what car and license Jim!" Eleni exclaimed. With a sign she dropped her head mumbling, "Besides, he probably doesn't want to see me. Why else would he not talk to me for almost six years?"

"Hey. Look at me." Jim said easing her chin up to look at him with his thumb and index finger. "You don't know anything yet. For all you know something bad _did _happen."

She signed. Jim was right, he usually was right, but it still didn't solve their problem. "Either way Jim, there's no way I could get there and there is _no way _my uncle would let me leave the state."

"Just tell him you're staying at my house for the weekend." He said casually. Eleni scoffed at the notion of telling her conservative bastard Uncle that she was sleeping over at a boy's house, not only would he beat her, but he'd probably try and kill Jim for inviting her. "No. No, hear me out. Tell him that you're coming over to my house to do homework and that you're going to sleep over because my sister wanted you to stay over."

"Jim, you don't have a sister…"

"Yeah, I know. But _he _doesn't." He said, trying to rationalize. "Common 'Leni, I know you really want to go and I'll be right beside you. We'll take a train and spend the night there. No one will be the wiser… You've waited practically six years for this. Are you really going to let this once in a lifetime chance pass?"

No. She didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to see her cousin. She knew that deceiving her uncle could come back to bit her hard on the ass, but all the consequences in the world were worth Tony.

A sly smile graced her lips as she looked at her official best friend, Jim. With a quick peck on his lips Eleni got off the bench and extended her hands towards him, "Common Jim-boy we got a lot of planning to start!"

They had spent that weekend planning, finding the perfect excuses for why they wouldn't be home until the following Monday, their parent's and guardian, like Jim had said, not the wiser about their real plans. When the Friday to leave for OSU came Eleni was practically jumping in her seat. She wasn't even scared to see Tony again because she knew –_thought– _that the only reason he wasn't contacting her was because of something seriously bad. Tony was her best friend, one of the men she could say she loved more then anything and she knew he felt the same. So there was no doubt in her mind that he would willingly lose contact with her.

Walking into the USO basketball stadium Eleni clung to Jim's arm. There were so many people crowding the bleachers she could barely move until Jim had, thankfully, found them a seat.

"What number do you think he is?" Jim asked.

Eleni laughed, "if he had any say in it he is _defiantly _jersey number 13."

They sat in silence as more basketball fans crowded the bleachers overlooking the basketball court. Eleni was a huge fan of basketball, mainly because of Tony, so when the crowd stood to cheer for the home team she too jumped and screamed in excitement. "Yeah! Go OSU! Suck it Michigan!"

"I didn't know you liked basketball that much?" Jim said, baffled by her excitement.

"Yeah, well stick with me and you'll find out a l– Oh my God! There he is! Look Jim! Jim, look there he is! Just like I said, number 13..." She smiled, her voice dropping as she looked at the young man she'd known who, even though grown, was still unchanged. "Same old Tony."

Jim smiled at Eleni. Her eyes were filled with awe and excitement. He'd never seen her like this and he could honestly say he'd never seen anything more beautiful in his life. Grabbing her hand to intertwine their fingers, Jim squeezed them reassuringly. She gave him another one of her heartfelt smiles and Jim swore that was the moment he fell in love.

Throughout the game, Jim would see Eleni jump with the other spectators at a basket or yell at the referee for his lousy call, but as the game came to a near finishing he saw the happiness and excitement that once graced her face dissolve into sadness. "Hey… Is everything all right?"

Eleni cleared her throat, trying to ward away the tears that threatened to fall. "Uh, yeah… Uh, do y–you mind taking me back to the hotel? I–I can't –can't be here."

"Sure. Come on." Jim said as he led them off the bleachers and into the hallway of the large University. He wasn't sure what set her off, but he knew not to push her for answers. He watched her as they made their way to the hotel; a stray tear falls every so often. Nevertheless, she held in the worst of it in, until they reached their hotel room. With the door locked, Jim turned to see Eleni crumble against the bed, finally braking down and no longer able to hold back the immense sadness that overwhelmed her when she realized how _happy _Tony was… without her.

* * *

Gasping sobs and wet shirts was how Eleni remembered her first ever train trip without supervision. She signed at the remembrance of why she stopped looking for Tony. She had put time and effort in looking for him and he didn't even try tracing her cell phone or locating her house to see if she was all right. The realization hurt; made her feel unloved…

Eleni's silence worried Tim; he thought it was a little weird, out of her character. Sure she seemed the mysterious type, but she also seemed like the kind of person who enjoys the company of others. Taking a quick look to his right Tim noticed the creases that formed around her puffed out lips. Figure she was thinking about Tony, considering it was the last thing she talked about, Tim thought of taking her mind off him by asking her about Corporal Jim Damacos… And possibly getting more information that Gibbs couldn't get. "So, tell me about your relationship with Corporal Damacos. In interrogation you mentioned that he was your boyfriend?"

Tim's soft voice helped bring Eleni fully out of her nightmarish thoughts and although she knew he was fishing for more information on Jim she couldn't help the smile that tugged on her lips as she thought about their relationship. "Mhm, Jim was my first boyfriend, the love of my life. We met in our first year of high school, but only _really _became friends in the beginning of our second." She said as she thought back to that OSU basketball game he'd taken her to. "But it was only in our third year we made it official. We spent most of our time together…" She laughed, "His parents had even mentioned once that we were 'glued to the hip' because we were always together… And when he found out a little more about my living situation we just… well there was barely a moment we were ever alone…"

"'You're living situation'?" Tim questioned, wondering if her parents treated her in the same way Anthony Sr. had treated Tony.

"Oh, uh… I shouldn't have said that I didn't mean–"

"Eleni. I'm here to listen. Whatever you tell me, unless you tell me otherwise I _swear _I wont tell… _Anyone." _Tim clarified and there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't break his promise to a woman he'd only known about for roughly seven hours. Her eyes hide secrets Tim didn't wish to open, because he knew that some secrets were best left unsaid, but if she were willing to share then he'd be there to listen. "Only if you're in danger and I absolutely have to, then I promise I wont tell anyone." He said once more, turning to look at her as he stopped at a red light.

"Not even Tony?" She asked gently, at the shake of his head eleni signed, "My mother… Uh, died during childbirth so I never had her and my father, Tony's uncle, didn't really want much to do with me. So my mother's grandparents brought me up, God rest their souls. They, uh…" Her throat felt constricted, she'd only ever told Jim about her grandparents and that was year's back. Her old wounds were resurfacing. "When I was eight they passed away… So child services put me in the care of my mother's brother, Giuseppe LoGreco–"

"Wait! You're not part of _that _LoGreco family?" Tim's high pitched shriek was amusing, all law enforcement officers reacted as such when she told them who she was related to.

"Yeah... And believe me, he was worse before he became Pennsylvania's infamous serial killer." _Shit! _She hadn't meant for that to slip out. Mentally slapping herself, Eleni tried bringing the subject back to Jim. "Either way, when Jim found out I wasn't in the ideal living situations he… He was just always there for me. Helping me get out of having to stay the night at my uncles or even sneaking in so I wouldn't be alone at night with the guy… Jim is my real life Romeo. Not a bad bone in that mans body." She laughed, "when I was getting my first tattoo I remember he was so angry because God forbid we 'ruin our bodies' he didn't talk to me for two days. But right when I was about to give in he came practically begging me to forgive him. Saying: _I couldn't be mad at anyone for just a little ink."_ She said trying to mimic his voice while laughing at the fond memory. She had some of her best memories with Jim… But for every two good memories, there came one bad one. Her smile soured, "We, uh, we continued to date throughout University, but… Uh… Well, around the end of my second semester I had gotten mixed in with drugs."

"How?" Tim asked, before apologizing, " I mean, if you don't mind me asking. I don't want to seem like I'm prying…"

Eleni smiled at Tim, wondering how he had no wedding band on his hand; Tim was possibly one of the sweetest men she'd met since Jim. "Stress. It just got to me." She said, knowing that, although she didn't want to lie to Tim, she couldn't tell him the truth.

"_You're a worthless slut! You don't think I didn't know about your late nights with that boy of yours? You're a dumb slut, so there's no point in even arguing with me!" Giuseppe screamed._

_"You sick bastard! I wont do it just so you could get money. Fuck, get a job!" Eleni retaliated._

_"So long as you live under my roof, you'll abide by my rules and if not then I'll make sure you're not… in the right state of mind to choose for yourself." He laughed evilly._

_"God… You're crazy! I'm leaving. Don't expect me to come back." Eleni said before quickly backing away from the man she'd once called part her family._

_When she saw the anger flare in his eyes at her final statement Eleni knew she had no other option but to run for safety. Quickly pivoting in the direction of the door Eleni ran towards it not looking back. Trying to unlock the many hinges and bolts as fast as she could before–_

BASH!_ She felt her body slam against the metal rectangular doorframe. She let out a pained scream, hoping her neighbor's would hear and call for the police, but they were quickly muffled as Giuseppe squeezed her throat. She struggled at first, trashing at him, trying to ease his hands off of her, but she was becoming weaker as he continued to cut of her air passage way. She was loosing feeling in her legs and arms and she the worst was she knew this wasn't going to be the end. She knew that he would stop just before she passed out, but while she was still to weak to even move, that way she'd be unable to resist him… or anyone else._

_When he finally let go she fell to the floor, struggling to even sit up. Before she knew it her face was being push up forcefully and her uncle was shoving what she could only assume were pilled drugs down her throat, forcing her to swallow._

_"He'll be here in twenty minutes." Giuseppe said as he lifted his niece off the floor and carried her into her bedroom that was still filled with all her girly stuffed animals and pink wallpaper. "Stay there. The drug should start taking effect." Seeing as she was unable to move after her brutal attack Giuseppe walked towards her bedroom door turning to address her one last time, "Oh. And you better be good."_

Yes, anything was better then telling Tim the truth about how and why she became addicted to drugs. Unconsciously rubbing and clearing her throat, momentarily believing she was back with her uncle, Eleni looked back at the side view of Tim's thin face. "Anyways I was the one who broke up with him… I didn't want to get him mixed in with my messed up life and even though he knew almost everything about me, even the drugs… There were something's I could never tell him at the time."

"So you guys ended up staying friends…?"

Scrunching up her nose in a disapproving manner Eleni clarified, "Actually, no. He was really mad at the time and we just stopped talking and seeing each other for… six years." She laughed, "I ended up running into him at a train station on my way to DC. It was nice seeing him. We ended up talking and sharing stories… You know when you don't see a friend for a long time it's good to just… let loose and be your old selves again?" He nodded at her question. "Well that's what happened. He was only dating Loraine at the time and I didn't want to get in the way so we remained friends ever since."

"Did Jim know you were still on drugs when you two first started seeing each other again?" Curious, wanting to know if Jim would take her back even if she wasn't on the straight and narrow.

"Uh, no. Not for the first two years at least." She hesitated.

"What happened?"

"Let's just say there was a small hospital incident." She said, not wanting to go into great detail. "He was a prince though. Ended up being the only person willing to help me out. He got me into rehab and away from… bad people… He's my knight in shining armor." She smiled before realizing what she'd just said.

He _was _her knight in shining armor. Past tense. No longer a continuous figure in her life, nothing more than a memory in her mind. Realization started to dawn on Eleni; Jim was dead. And she had inadvertently killed him. She couldn't even protect the one man who had practically devoted most of his life to protecting her. The one time he'd needed her and where was she? Getting fucked by a man she'd only known for a week. She was selfish and undeserving, worthless. He shouldn't have risked his life for her; he should have just left her to die when he had the chance. Then maybe everything would be O.K., he'd be with his wife, loving her and possibly making a family. Instead he was in a government's autopsy lab with limbs torn from other limbs. Jim was dead.

There were going to be no more late night movies; throwing popcorn at the people who talked too loud in the theatre or stealing sips of each other's soda. No more Wednesday lunches where they'd meet at the café near his base where they'd talk about the plans for their future. Only twenty-nine and Jim was already dead. What about the three children and twelve grandchildren he'd dreamed of having, where was his white picket fence and red-doored country home he wanted to retire in with the whole family running around?

Jim _is _dead. Eleni was trying to calm herself, to bring her back to the false sense of security she'd been under only two minutes ago, but she couldn't. The knowledge of Jim's death _finally _took an effect on her and she found herself not breathing. Hyperventilating Eleni shook Tim's arm, "Stop the car."

"Bu–"

"McGee! Stop the car." She said hurryingly, trying to take in as much air as her tightened throat would allow her.

Once the car rolled to almost a complete stop on the side of the street Eleni rushed out. Pasting the gravel grounds she found herself raking her fingers through her hair as if it helped set her head straight; it didn't. "Oh God… Jesus Christ!" She said breathlessly.

Tim rushed out of the car towards Eleni, worried. _What just happened? _"What's going on? Are you O.K.?" He knew it was a dumb question, but he didn't know what else to say; he honestly had no idea what this mysterious women had been thinking before her panic attack.

"Oh God… Oh God! He's gone. Jim's really dead!" She said as she turned to stare at Tim, her breathing still labored.

Watching as her eyes glazed over and her chest heaved, Tim finally understood her sudden hysteria, softening his expression. "Hey, hey. Don't worry it'll be all right."

"Jim's dead! The _one_ man in my life who _never _left me willingly is dead and you're telling me it's'all right'! How is everything going to be O.K.? Tell me Timothy!" She yelled. "Tell me!" She screamed, stomping on her foot. When all she got was silence as a response, the knowledge that she still couldn't breath came rushing into her mind. "Oh God, I can't breath." She startled, pasting again, desperately trying to get oxygen back into her lungs.

"Eleni… Eleni!" Tim said forcefully as he walked close enough to grab onto her shoulders. "Look at me." When she looked up he could see the panic in her eyes, unknown to him that she was thinking about the many times Jim had said those exact words to her. "Everything _will_ be all right, O.K.? I don't know when or how, but you'll get through this. In the short time that I've known you, I could tell that you're tough, not one to give up. Don't give up now… We'll get the people who did this… Just… breath... In. Out. In. And out." He repeated. Seeing hers eyes well with unshed tears he cupped her cheeks and gave her a reassuring nod. "You'll get through this." Was his final statement before stepping away from her, continuing his chants to breath. Tim watched as Eleni's eyes roamed from anything and everything, never being still for more then a moment. She was scared and he wished he knew what to do. Instead he stood there hoping her attack had at least lessened.

Eleni's slow breaths were becoming ragged again and before he could react and reassure her once again she rushed into his arms, holding on as if he was her lifeline. Tim stood there, momentarily dazed by her suddenness, but then, realizing she only needed some comfort and a person to cry on, Tim held her close. Wrapping one arm around her to steady her quivering body and his other to stroke her hair as he whispered reassuring words over and over again.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

O.K. it's official: you guys are crazy spoiled by me. You know what I did when I probably should have been sleeping? I was writing this chapter. Be grateful. No, I'm joking. Even if you are or not grateful, I am the only one to blame for choosing to write this instead of sleep. To tell the honest truth, I've been studying like crazy these past few days, but at the same time my story muse wouldn't shut up. So whenever I'd finish my work I'd write, making me stay up till four in the morning and waking up at six for my classes. So my sleeping pattern is officially messed up.

I'm going to try getting back into the straight and narrow of sleeping. And unlike my previous chapter's, when I say it might take a while for the next chapter I mean it.

So, what did you think of this chapter? It was fun writing it in the beginning, but now I'm just nervous. I'm not sure if you guys, my readers, are as enthralled with the story's progression... Are you? What did you think of Eleni and Tim's interaction? Eleni and Jim's relationship and her _late _reaction to his death?

Comment, Question, Critique.


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